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Researcher Biographies

Dr. Maribeth Murray is the Executive Director of the Arctic Institute of North America and Professor of Anthropology and Archaeology. She has worked in the Arctic and subarctic for over 20 years where her research is focused on past and present interactions and feedbacks among climate, the marine environment and people. Northern Seas is an extension of historical ecological and climatological work she started in Alaska while at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. She joined the faculty at the University of Calgary in 2013.

Dr. Gabriela Ibarguchi is an ecological and evolutionary biologist whose research has focused on biogeography and the adaptation of species to marine and harsh environments including alpine, polar and arid regions. Her role in the North Seas project is to develop a biogeographical profile of past marine animal ecology and environmental conditions by integrating GIS methods and the study of historical specimen collection.

Dr. Patricia Wells is an archaeologist and documentary researcher. She has studied pre-contact arctic cultures through the analysis of their material remains, and has conducted land use and occupancy research in Labrador, drawing much of her data from historical records. Her role in the Northern Seas project is to assemble information on the marine systems including climate, ice conditions and sealing and whaling records from a number of historical documentary sources.

Dr. Ravi Darwin Sankar is a coastal geologist/geomorphologist. His primary research interests center on the potential impacts of climate change on the coastal zone resulting from the near-term effects of sea-level rise and storms. His role in the Northern Seas project is to develop accurate model predictions of geomorphic change by combining historical and recent data, in order to plan future coastal management and adaptation strategies that reduce the vulnerability of human/marine systems in the Arctic region.